Welt shoe having a removable welt



,1953 L. BAZZOLI WELT SHOE HAVING A REMOVABLE WELT 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 6, 1951 ul v m u m E V m.

ATTORNEY Nov. 10, 1953 L. BAZZOLI 2,653,287

WELT SHOE HAVING A REMOVABLE WELT Filed Feb. 6, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ii I" 7 TH g 5 INVENTOR LE0 .BAZZOL ATTORNEY Patented Nov. 10, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE WELT SHOE HAVING A REMOVABLE WELT Leo Bazzoli, Brockway, Pa.

Application February 6, 1951, Serial No. 209,623

Claims.

My invention relates to shoes, slippers, boots and the like, and more particularly to attachments therefor.

The principal object of the invention is to provide an elastic strip-like member which may be applied between the upper and the sole, or both the sole and the heel, of a shoe or the like, and which is in the nature of a removable welt having functional advantages, decorative appearance, or both.

Another object is to provide a longitudinally stretchable elastic welt of this character which is under tension when applied to the shoe and which will effectively exclude dirt and moisture from the juncture of the upper and sole of the shoe.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device of this character which will tend to make the seam between the upper and sole more watertight and at the same time tend to keep the upper in shape and prevent it from spreading over the projecting welt portion of the sole when the latter is being worn.

Another object is to provide an imitation or mock welt of this character which may be quickly applied to the shoe and as readily removed when not desired or when the shoe is to be cleaned, shined or otherwise treated.

Another object is to provide a removable welt attachment which will have a color or appearance in contrast with that of the shoe and will give the shoe a distinctive and attractive appearance, so that the user of the shoe who has a number of attachments in different colors or tints, or with different decorative efiects, may use the one that best matches the dress or suit to be worn.

With the above and other objects and advantages in view, the invention resides in the novel combinations and arrangements of parts and the novel features of construction hereinafter described and claimed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings which show the present preferred embodiments of the invention.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a p rspective view of a shoe having applied thereto one form of the invention in which the attachment is continuous and extends around both the sole and heel;

Fig. 2 is a cross section, the shoe being conventionally illustrated;

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section on line 33 in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a detail section on line 4-4 of Fig. 1 on an enlarged scale;

- Fig. 5 is a perspective view of one form of fastener or retainer which may be used in holding the welt attachment along in-curved portions of the sole;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a welt retaining means which may be built into the shoe at the time it is made;

Fig. 7 is a detail sectional perspective of a portion of another form of removable welt;

Fig. 8 is a similar view of still another form of welt attachment;

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of a ladies shoe showing applied thereto another form of the invention in which the attachment does not extend around the heel;

Fig. 10 is an enlarged detail view in elevation of a portion of Fig. 9;

Fig. 11 is a plan view, partly broken away, of an attachment that may be extended around both the sole and heel but which is not continuous as in Fig. 1; and

Fig. 12 is a detail view in elevation of a portion of a shoe showing the manner of fastening the ends of the welt attachment shown in Fig. 11.

The invention is preferably used as a decorative attachment to be applied to shoes, new or old, and for men, women or children. It may extend either around both the sole and the heel as in Fig. 1, or only along the sole from one side of the heel to the other side, as in Figs. 9 and 10. It may be made in one continuous loop or in a one piece strip, the ends of which may be fastened to the sole in end-to-end contact if the attachment extends around both the sole and heel, or when the device is to extend only around the sole, the one piece strip may have its ends fastened at the juncture of the sole with the front or breast of the heel, as in Fig. 10. The welt-like strip or band is preferably made of resilient or elastic rubber or rubber-like material which is longitudinally stretchable throughout its crosssectional area and which may be molded or extruded or otherwise formed, but it may be made of any plastic that has elastic properties so that it may be stretched and held under tension. It may be of various shapes in cross-section and its cross-sectional size will vary according to the shoe, boot, slipper or other footwear to which it is applied.

In Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4 the removable welt-like member or attachment is designated by the numeral II and is shown applied to a man's shoe having an upper U, a sole S and a heel H. The welt attachment is here shown of substantially triangular shape in cross-section having a bottom face l2 to rest on and substantially cover the 3 upper face of the projecting welt portion of the sole, an inner face l3 to contact with the upper and an outer face 14 which may be slightly concave, as seen in Fig. 2. The strip or band, being made of stretchable elastic rubber or plastic, and having its inner face [3 held under tension against the upper U, will yieldably support the upper and tend to prevent it from flattening or collapsing downwardly against the welt portion of the sole when the sine i being worn. shown in Fig. 3, the Well; strip II is made in one continuous or endless piece to form a closed loop and is of such length that it must be stretched longitudinally in order to apply it to the shoe. Hence, when applied it will be under tension and will be self retained on the shoe. If the is not made with a groove or channel around the upper edge of the heel, the latter and the adjoining portion of the sole may be gouged out as at I5 to form a channel for the mock welt ll. Bince them are in-curved portions along the sole opposite the shank of the shoe, it is necessary to provide means for holding the welt strip in against the upper at those places. I preferably accompllsh that by employing a few longitudinally spaced retainers or fasteners l6 such as the one lhown in 5. They may be U-shaped staples but preferably have their tops or prong-connecting portions H slightly off-set from the prongs. They are driven into the sole as shown in Figs. 8 and 4, and remain permanently in position. In order to permit the welt when it substantially covers the projecting portion of the 'sole, to be applied to and removed from them, it is formed with spaced slits It so that it may be sprung or forced over the head portions ll of the inverted U-shaped retainers, as seen in Fig. 4. Such portion or portions of the mock welt will be held in pressured contact with the opposed portions of the upper.

Instead of using separate staple-like retainare.- I may build into the shoe at the time it is made retainers or fasteners such as shown in Fig. 6. These may be made of bendable wire and each consists of a plurality of inverted U- shaped elements IS with slightly off-set head portions II. The elements It project upwardly at right angles to anchoring portions 19 and 20. The portions 20 are the ends of the wire from which the plural fastener is made. The portions l9 are in the form of loops which connect adjoining elements IB? and which include either inwardly or outwardly angled portions 2| adapted to be bent to space the elements Hi from each other the distances desired. The parts 20, I9 and ii are placed between the sole and the upper during the fastening of these parts together, and they will eifectively anchor the welt retainer elements l5 in the desired positions so that they will be disposed in the manner of the elements It inFigs. and 3.

of making the welt strip or band of triangular shape, they may be of cylindrical shape, that is, of circular shape in cross-section asshown at H in Fig. 7; or as shown in Fig. 8, they may be of round or cylindrical shape with a tangentially projecting continuous flange li adapted to overlie the welt portion of the sole. The flange I I may be molded or decorated with spaced transverse grooves or lines, as indicated at I l in Fig. 8, or the entire exposed or outer surface of the strip, of whatever cross-sectional shape employed, may be given an ornamental appearance in any suitable manner. The strips or hands may be made of elastic rubber, rubberlike composition or plastic materials in different colors or tints, and they may be sold in sets of such colors or tints so that the purchaser may select the pair that will best harmonize with the particular dress or suit to be worn with the shoes so ornamented. While the welts may be employed solely for their decorative or ornamental effects, they are preferably so constructed that they will substantially exclude mud and dirt from the mar portion or the name between the uppar and the sole "and wni arso tend to lhake the seam or joint between the upper and the sole more water tight, thus preventing moisture from reaching the feet. When the welt is flanged as at H, the flanges will be formed with slits I8 to receive the staples or fastenings It or it, but when the welt is round, as in Fig. 7, the entire welt will be sprung or forced to the rear or sides of such fastenings or retainers in pressured contact with the upper to support the latter at all times.

In Figs. 9 and 10 I have shown the invention applies to a ladies shoe in which the welt extends only around the sole from one side of the heel breast line to the opposite side. The mock welt strip H is triangular in cross-section and has fastened over its ends similar shaped and pointed tips '28 of either metal or rigid plastic material. Series of inverted U-shaped fasteners l6, sim.l-' lar to the fastener H; or it, hold the strip in pressured contact with the upper along the incurved portions of the sole while it is stretched or under tension. The rearmost fasteners 66' are so positioned that when the strip is stretched and positioned around the sole, they will be engaged by the shoulders formed by the ends of the tips 23 as will be understood upon reference to Fig. 10. The strip will thus be held in position, but if desired the tips may be formed with transverse openings 24 to receive small nails or tacks 25 which may be driven into the sole as shown.

In Fig. 11 I have shown a non-continuous mock welt which may extend around both the sole and heel, and which may have its two ends abntted and fastened to one of the in-curved portions of the sole as shown in Fig. 12. The welt strip II is here shown as of circular cross-section and on its ends are fastened cylindrical tip-like tubes 23. Two of the fasteners 16, which are like the elements IE or Ii, are so positioned that whenthe welt H is stretched in position and the tips i3 abutted, as in Fig. 12, the shoulders formed by the opposite or inner ends of the tips will be held by those two fasteners. However, as an additional fastening means for the ends of the stretched welt, the tips may be formed with perforations 24 to receive nails or the like 25' which are driven into the sole.

It is believed that the uses and advantages of my invention will be apparent from the foregoing detailed description in connection with the drawings which are illustrative of some of the possible embodiments of the invention. While in all of the forms shown, the welt-like attachment is made solid from a longitudinally stretchable elastic and waterproof material such as rubber or plastic; it is obvious that it may be of hollow or tubular form, and that it might be made of a resilient metal coil suitably covered with an elastic material. It is important that the device when applied to the shoe, be held under tension so that the contacting portions of the upper will be yieldably supported. That will tend to keep the upper in shape and prevent it from spreading or flattening over the projecting welt portion of the sole. The pressure applied may be anywhere from one to five pounds. As a purely ornamental device there need be only sufiicient tension to hold the strip or band in position.

The shoe will thus have an attractive appearance or new look over a longer period of time, and at the same time the wearers foot will be properly supported without discomfort because of the resilient or elastic structure of the device. Since the device or attachment may be quickly applied to and removed from the shoe, and since a person may have a plurality of pairs in different colors or with different designs, shoes may be readily ornamented to harmonize with the dress or suit which is to be worn.

From the foregoing, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, it will be seen that novel and advantageous provision has been made for carrying out the objects of the invention, and while preferences have been disclosed, attention is invited to the possibility of making variations within the scope of the invention is claimed.

I claim:

1. The combination with a shoe having an upper and a sole with an edge portion projecting beyond the upper to form a channel between the sole and upper, the channel having an incurved portion, of a decorative mock welt strip for removable positioning in said channel on the projecting portion of the sole and against the upper, said strip being flexible and elastic and 1ongitudinally stretchable throughout its cross-sectional area, and means removably retaining said strip in said channel in a longitudinally stretched condition and under tension to cause it to exert a yieldable pressure against the upper at all times, said means including a row of longitudinally spaced fasteners fixed between the sole and upper of the shoe along the in-curved portion of the channel and projecting upwardly in spaced relation to the adjacent portion of the upper, a portion of said stretchable elastic strip being sprung over said fasteners and removably held by the latter in pressured contact with the opposed portion of the upper along the in-curved portion.

2. The structure of claim 1 in which said fasteners are of inverted U-shape and the portion of said strip along the in-curved portion of the channel has longitudinally spaced slots to receive said fasteners.

3. The structure of claim 1 in which said means for removably retaining said strip also includes enlarged and rigid tips on the ends of said strips, the inner ends of said tips forming shoulders which engage certain of said fasteners.

4. The structure of claim 1 in which said channel extends from one side of the breast line of the heel to the other side and has in-curved portions at each side of the shoe, in which there is a row of said fasteners at each side of the shoe, in which said strip in its unstretched condition is of less length than the length of said channel, and in which the ends of said strip have enlarged and rigid tips, the inner ends of said tips forming shoulders which engage the endmost fasteners in the rows when the strip is in its stretched condition.

5. The structure of claim 1 in which said channel extends from one side of the breast line of the heel to the other side and has in-curved portions at each side of the shoe, in which there is a row of said fasteners at each side of the shoe,

in which said strip in its unstretched condition is of less length than the length of said channel, and in which the ends of said strip have elongated rigid tips formed with transverse apertures, and nails in the apertures of said tips and driven into the sole when said strip is in a stretched condition to removably hold the ends of said strip.

LEO BAZZOLI.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 268,864 Cancio Dec. 12, 1882 1,139,403 Davis May 11, 1915 1,308,804 Moulton July 8, 1919 1,360,228 Klingenberg Nov. 23, 1920 1,952,329 McKenna Mar. 2'7, 1934 2,028,494 Blanchet et al Jan. 21, 1936 2,575,783 Batchelder et al. Nov. 20, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 374,421 Italy Aug. 24, 1939 884,695 France Aug. 24, 1943 

